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Thursday, 6 March 2014

Hey! (: Today for our Global Issues Novel Study, we were assigned with the task of creating a piece of word art. We chose a quote from our novel (mine is War Brothers by Sharon E. McKay) and used computer software or pen and paper to form it into a powerful visual. The quote is meant to express the most important issues and themes that are occurring throughout the novel. I created my quote with Adobe Illustrator, hope you like it. (:

"Can a good boy be turned into a killer more easily than one who was not a good boy in the first place? I think of how the words of God were so misused by Kony and his commanders. I now believe that if you tell a lie, feed it, nurture it, and help it to grow, it will be believed. It will grow powerful despite being rotten at the core."

The first reason I chose this quote is because the main issue throughout the whole novel is discussed, examined, and analyzed in this quote. The underlying message in this quote is asking: who's fault is it if we are forced into thinking bad things are the right thing to do, and we carry them out? Is the person committing the actions responsible, or the one who persuaded them into that way of thinking? Is that human's soul truly evil, or truly good, based on which way they were influenced? These questions are all pondered and addressed in the novel and are a huge part of the overall story. Second, it connects to worldview :p. "View of human nature" is clearly explored in this quote so that's another connection that can be made. Finally, this quote just really stays with me and makes me think, therefore giving it some personal connection.

There were several intentional choices I made while creating this piece of art. I made certain words that I felt were important, such as believe, lie, powerful, and rotten, larger than the others because I felt that they were the words that really stand out in this quote. Throughout the quote, I also used several different fonts. I chose an un-distracting, basic font for the filler words so they did not detract from the message. For the word believe and believed, I chose a scrawled calligraphy because I felt like it was uneven and each letter was different, much like each of our own beliefs. Lie was put in a scratched out kind of font because we think of lies as covering the truth, like the scratches, and it also gave it a more sinister look. The middle section of the quote is in earthy green because it is using a plant analogy throughout that section, and I chose the cursive font because it looked floral. For the word powerful, I put it in a strong-looking in font and made the colour red to infer to the disastrous outcomes that can come with power, and if a lie grows powerful. Finally, I chose to make rotten in a messy writing with highlights of yellow/green because it made it look as if something was rotting.

Monday, 3 March 2014

Since there is so much buzz about the 86th Annual Academy Awards, I decided I would create a post similar to it... in book form! This post was created a while ago, and also to celebrate the books I read last year (2013), so it will not include any books I've read in 2014. Anyways, welcome to the First Annual Book Oscars! (: The nominations are all books I have read in 2013, but do not have to be published in that year, only read within this year. Books I re-read this year (i.e. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Fairest, etc.) are NOT eligible. Without further ado... Here are the categories, nominees, and winners!

Best Character in a Leading Role (male)
Dash from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Day from Legend & Prodigy by Marie Lu
Hugo from the Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Conner from Unwind by Neil Shusterman
Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie StiefvaterAnd the Oscar goes to... CONNER in Unwind by Neil Shusterman!!!

Best Character in a Leading Role (female)
Risa from Unwind by Neil Shusterman
Cinder from Cinder by Marissa Meyer
June from Legend & Prodigy by Marie Lu
Kira from Partials by Dan Wells
Sybella from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFeversAnd the Oscar goes to... SYBELLAin Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers!!!

Best Character in a Supporting Role (male)
Langston from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Nick from Altered by Jennifer Rush
Samm from Partials by Dan Wells
Beast from Grave Mercy & Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Sturmhond from Siege and Storm by Leigh BardugoAnd the Oscar goes to... NICKin Altered by Jennifer Rush!!!

Best Character in a Supporting Role (female)
Minnie from The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Genya from Shadow and Bone & Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Christina from Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Great-Aunt Ida from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Nehemia from Throne and Glass & Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. MaasAnd the Oscar goes to... MINNIE in The Help by Kathryn Stockett!!!

Best Middle Grade Book
The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian AndersonAnd the Oscar goes to... THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick!!!

Best Author's Idea (for the novel)
Ink by Amanda Sun
The Program by Suzanne Young
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Mind Games by Kiersten WhiteAnd the Oscar goes to... INK by Amanda Sun!!!

Best Character Dynamic/Interaction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Angelfall by Susan EeAnd the Oscar goes to... ANGELFALLby Susan Ee!!!

Best Ending
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green *cries*And the Oscar goes to...THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTERby Megan Shepherd!!

Best Cover
Angelfall by Susan Ee
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Ink by Amanda Sun
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
The Archived by Victoria SchwabAnd the Oscar goes to... SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo!!!

Best Graphics (for books with pictures of any sort)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon HaleAnd the Oscar goes to... CHOPSTICKS by Jessica Anthony!!!

Best Book of 2013
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Legend by Marie Lu
Altered by Jennifer Rush
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers
Unwind by Neil ShustermanAnd the Oscar goes to.... SHADOW AND BONEby Leigh Bardugo and THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett (c'mon, you know I can't pick one)!!!

And just for fun... *Please note that none of these are supposed to be offensive, and if you feel differently than I ( do that's fine! They are also not supposed to be jabs to the author, but rather just presenting some of my feelings, the same way as the good things. Some of the nominees and winners from these categories come from some of my favourite books!*

Most Annoying Male Character
Thomas from The Maze Runner by James Dashner
James from Mind Games by Kiersten White
Haru from Partials by Dan Wells
Morpheus from Splintered by A.G. Howard
Thomas from Legend & Prodigy by Marie LuAnd the Oscar goes to.... MORPHEUSin Splinteredby A.G. Howard!!!

Most Annoying Female Character
Felicia from Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Caelena from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Tess from Legend & Prodigy by Marie Lu
Katie from Ink by Amanda Sun
Clary from City of Bones by Cassandra ClareAnd the Oscar goes to.... CAELENAin Throne of Glassby Sarah J. Maas!!

Underdeveloped World
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
Shards & Ashes by Various Authors (all stories as a whole)
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
Mind Games by Kiersten White (this may seem out of place, but I honestly still don't understand what half of her situation was because it was very underdeveloped)And the Oscar goes to... PROPHECYby Ellen Oh!!!

Least Favourite Book of 2013
Mind Games by Kiersten White
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
Gone by Michael Grant
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah DessenAnd the Oscar goes to...MIND GAMESby Kiersten White!!

There you have it; the winners of my 2013 Book Oscars. I hope you enjoyed this post. I would absolutely love if you participated - You can use my categories, make up your own, or use a bit of each. You don't have to do as many as I did if you don't want to, either. If you do participate, please leave a comment right on this page with the link to your post. I'd really like to see everyone else's nominees and winners! That's it for now. Have a lovely day. (: